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Premiére Theatrical Licensing

Plays and Musicals for All Audiences and Theatre Groups, Amateur, Educational, Professional, and Religious

Now I Lay Me Down To Sleep — play

Now I Lay Me Down To Sleep — play

by Jerry Walker

(A must for any group – professional, amateur and educational, performing for families and teens. A perfect play for High Schools and Youth Theatres.)

They are called the best four years of our lives…and they are, but that four year trek is also dangerous and confusing. You will find all of the things that young people, especially high school students, need to know, want to ask, get stressed-out about and complain about. Between the familiar items of teen angst and adolescence will come those moments of pleasant memory, deep identity, shocking surprise, and utter devastation, as your onstage ‘child’ reaches out for comfort, help, direction––approval; wanting to belong to something/someone. The scenes and monologues in this on-target theatrical, will have you laughing one second and crying for …well, a considerable length of time. The play is about teens and how each action performed, or word spoken by anyone has either a positive or negative effect on someone else, even oneself, and we come to find out that no word or deed is harmless or without consequence. Adults and youth alike, will see themselves in the halls of this school, in the lives of its students; in both the hopes, and the shattered dreams of high-schoolers not so very different from those adults in their lives around them who have walked this path before in a slightly different era but with all the manifestations of expectation, desire, dreams, and despair that haunted them. This is one fine and timeless play.

Northern Maine One Act Play Festival (1st Place), 1997

This 90 minute play will soon be available in an approved  40 minute version for High School competitions.

It also has a great selection of monologues for in-class/workshop work and competition performance.  (Buy a single copy of the book, below)

PLAY DETAILS (Full-Length)

  • 29f, 24m.
  • A school hallway, a swing set, a park bench and streetlamp, a door, a hospital room
  • About 90 minutes
  • Contemporary costumes
  • ORDER #3039

PLAY DETAILS (Competition Version)

  • ?f, ?m
  • A school hallway, a swing set, a park bench and streetlamp, a door, a hospital room
  • 40 minutes
  • Contemporary costumes
  • ORDER #3039OA (Competition Version)

Available!

REVIEWS and COMMENTS

“We loved your script and are still considering it for future productions. We hope to do a couple of productions like this a year with the teens in our program. I did have a few of the teens read your script, they all really liked it. Productions like this allow them to communicate things in their lives that are very hard to communicate. And it allows them to do that to adults in our community, something that is near impossible without a means like this.” — Dave Parent, Nasson Youth Theatre

PERUSAL MATERIALS:

  • PERUSAL SCRIPT: The PDF of the first act of the full length script is available: NowILayMeDownPERUSAL
  • PERUSAL SCRIPT: The PDF of the APPROVED 40 minute High School Competition version will be available here NowILayMeDownPERUSALCOMPETITIONSCRIPT.
  • PRINT BOOK Perusal $10.95 • Order #3039ap It is NOT a legal copy for rehearsal/production purposes, but may be used to peruse the play, or just read it for enjoyment.



EDITOR’S NOTE: I just attended a production of the current version of the play as done by a group of teens at the School House Arts Center in Standish, Maine. So many good performances. This play gives each performer an opportunity to deal with relative, direct, and challenging material. The over-all play has a profound impact on it’s audience. There were gasps, laughs, a few sobs with a very involved audience at the performance I attended. This show will give teen actors a real chance to shine! As an ensemble competition piece, or as individual monologues/scenes, there are winners here!

REHEARSAL MATERIALS

Any PDF purchased will be emailed to your email address — if you need to provide that to us (not the one on your PayPal account), EMAIL us. CDs will be mailed to a snail mail address. Before we ship any rehearsal material we will need your performance dates, the name of your organization and the theatre where you will perform.

Email us prior to your order so we have the info to give you a complete quote. EMAIL us for rights and information. Be sure to give us anticipated performance dates and the address of your group and, if different, your theatre. Please also include a contact name and phone number.

FULL LENGTH VERSION

  • Script in PDF format — Order #3039a : $20.00 (will be sent to you by email, from which you will be authorized to print copies for your production)



  • KINDLE Version $6.99 ORDER FROM AMAZON HERE It is NOT a legal copy for rehearsal/production purposes, but may be used to peruse the play, or just read it for enjoyment.
  • Production Copies • 19 PRINT BOOKS $95.00 • Order #3039prodset (Intended for use in rehearsals) +postage and handling)



  • First Performance Amateur/Educational Royalty — Order #3139d : $65.00




     

  • Second Performance Amateur/Educational Royalty — Order #3139e : $55.00




     

  • Professional Royalties will be quoted upon application

APPROVED COMPETITION VERSION:

  • Script: Order #3039OAa : $15.00



  • Performance Royalty: Order #3139OAd : $30.00 per performance



PRODUCTIONS:

  • Schoolhouse Arts Center — June, 1, 2, 3, 2018
  • Biddeford City Theatre (UNE Theatre Ensemble) — 2015
  • Schoolhouse Arts Center — 2012
  • Schoolhouse Arts Center — 2008
  • Gray-New Glouster High School — 2007
  • Lake Region High School — 2003
  • Schoolhouse Arts Center — 2002
  • Living Waters Christian School — 2001
  • Full Length PREMIERE by School House Arts Center, 2002
  • One Act PREMIERE by Stearns High School, Millinocket, Maine for public performances and the Northern Maine One Act Play Festival (1st Place), 1997. (also State Festival Finalist)

 

BILLING CREDITS

The following is how the credits should read in all programs, posters, fliers, handbills and other promotional advertising for the show:
Now I Lay Me Down To Sleep

a play by
Jerry Walker

NOTE: The names of the Playwright(s), Composer, Lyricist, and Bookwriter shall be equal in size, type, coloring, boldness, and prominence. No billing shall appear in type larger or more prominent than the billing to the Authors except for the title of the play.

“Now I Lay Me Down To Sleep” is presented through special arrangement with Leicester Bay Theatricals.  All authorized materials are also supplied by LBT, www.leicesterbaytheatricals.com”

from the catalog of

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